Giant sinkhole swallows up couple in South Korea

CCTV footage has been released which shows the moment a couple of pedestrians in South Korea are swallowed up by a giant sinkhole.

The two unidentified individuals step off a bus in the capital Seoul before the ground beneath them suddenly collapses, causing the couple to plunge down the 10 ft deep hole.

Both apparently escaped with only minor injuries, with Seoul Metropolitan City officials and the Korean Geotechnical Society now investigating how the sinkhole was created.

Cho Seong-ha, an official at KGS, said, "It is still not known whether this was the immediate cause of the ground sinking.

"We are planning to analyse the possibility through investigation. We are also planning to figure out other causes for the sinking by looking at various construction records and by investigating the site," he added.

Whilst the cause of the sinkhole in this instance remains unknown, they are usually the result of mass erosion below the surface layer where soluble bedrock such as limestone or gypsum can be dissolved by water.